Advent, in most lectionaries, begins with the Second Coming of Jesus and ends in a way that leads into the First Coming. The Humes four-year lectionary follows that pattern.
The balance of divine judgment and mercy in these four readings is obvious. In them judgment and mercy are like sides of a coin; one cannot have one without the other being present. For example, in Isaiah 61, in the voice of Third Isaiah, divine mercy for exiles entails judgment of their oppressors. The reading from 1 Thessalonians omits 5:15, unfortunately.
Make sure that people do not try to repay evil for evil; always aim at what is best for each other and for everyone.
—The New Jerusalem Bible (1985)
God reserves the right to repay evil with judgment. Far be it from me to tell God when to judge and when to show mercy.
The lectionary’s turn toward the First Coming is especially obvious in John 1:1-18, the magnificent prologue to the Fourth Gospel. According to this pericope, which emphasizes mercy (as the Johannine Gospel does), judgment is still present. It is human judgment, though; those who reject the light of God condemn themselves.
That which we call divine wrath, judgment, and punishment is simply the consequences of our actions blowing back on us much of the time. These can be occasions for repentance, followed by forgiveness and restoration. Hellfire-and-damnation theology is at least as wrong as universalism; both are extreme positions.
As we prepare to celebrate the Incarnation, may we, trusting in God and walking with Jesus, recall these words (in the context of the Second Coming) from 1 Thessalonians 5:23:
…and may your spirit, life and body be kept blameless for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
—The New Jerusalem Bible (1985)
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 7, 2019 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF THE VENERABLE MATTHEW TALBOT, RECOVERING ALCOHOLIC IN DUBLIN, IRELAND
THE FEAST OF SAINT ANTHONY MARY GIANELLI, FOUNDER OF THE MISSIONARIES OF SAINT ALPHONSUS LIGUORI AND THE SISTERS OF MARY DELL’ORTO
THE FEAST OF FREDERICK LUCIAN HOSMER, U.S. UNITARIAN HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SEATTLE, FIRST NATIONS CHIEF, WAR LEADER, AND DIPLOMAT
The readings for this Sunday contain grim material. Indeed, the theme of judgment is strong, but so is the theme of divine deliverance after waiting for it.
Two main thoughts come to mind:
Deliverance for the oppressed is frequently condemnation for the oppressors. In a real sense, both the oppressors and the those they oppress are both oppressed populations, for whatever we do to others, we do to ourselves. If we seek to benefit ourselves at the expense of others, we harm ourselves. If we seek the common good, be work for the best interests of others as well as ourselves. Furthermore, when we insist on oppressing others, we set ourselves up to be on the bad side of God when the deity initiates deliverance.
Waiting for God can prove to be quite difficult. I do not pretend to have mastered this discipline. The reality that God’s schedule is not ours does frustrate us often, does it not? The fault is with mere mortals, not God.
Waiting for divine deliverance can be frustrating. May that deliverance, when it comes, be good news, not a catastrophe. Whether one will welcome it or find it catastrophic is up to one, is it not?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 29, 2017 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINTS BOSA OF YORK, JOHN OF BEVERLEY, WILFRID THE YOUNGER, AND ACCA OF HEXHAM, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOPS
THE FEAST OF SAINT CATHERINE OF SIENA, ROMAN CATHOLIC NUN
THE FEAST OF TIMOTHY REES, ANGLICAN BISHOP OF LLANDAFF
The Deuteronomistic account of the farewell speech of Joshua son of Nun contains reminders to be faithful to God and not to emulate the pagan neighboring ethnic groups. One may assume safely that at least part of the text is a subsequent invention meant to teach then-contemporary Jews to obey the Law of Moses, unlike many of their ancestors, including many who lived and died after the time of Joshua. The theme of fidelity to God recurs in Hebrews 4, which reminds us that God sees everything we do.
Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid: Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you, and magnify your holy Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
–The Collect for Purity, in The Book of Common Prayer (1979), page 355
The two options for Gospel readings are mutually inconsistent genealogies of Jesus. Matthew 1, following Jewish practice, divides the past into periods of 14–in this case, 14 generations–14 being the numerical value of “David” in Hebrew. This version of the family tree begins with Abraham and ends with Jesus, thereby setting his story in the context of God’s acts in history and culminating with the Incarnation. This genealogy lists only four women, two of whom were foreigners and three of whom were the subjects of gossip regarding their sex lives. These facts establish an inclusive tone in the text.
The genealogy in Luke 3 starts with Jesus and works backward to the mythical Adam. The fact that the family tree according to the Gospel of Luke goes back past Abraham (the limits of Judaism, which are porous in the genealogy in Matthew 1) makes the Lukan version more inclusive than its counterpart in Matthew. Jesus has kinship with all people–Jews and Gentiles–it teaches. That is consistent with the fact that the initial audience for the Gospel of Luke was Gentile.
The universality of God is a recurring theme in the Bible. The light of God is for all people, although many will reject it at any given time. The neglect that light is a grave error, one which carries with it many negative consequences, both temporal and otherwise. To write off people and populations is another error. Salvation is of the Jews. From them the light of Christ shines upon we Gentiles. Thanks be to God!
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
AUGUST 21, 2016 COMMON ERA
PROPER 16: THE FOURTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST, YEAR C
THE FEAST OF JOHN ATHELSTAN LAURIE RILEY, ANGLICAN ECUMENIST, HYMN WRITER, AND HYMN TRANSLATOR
that we may receive you in joy and serve you always,
for you live and reign with the Father and
the Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen.
–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 20
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The Assigned Readings:
Jeremiah 31:31-34 (Thursday)
Isaiah 42:10-18 (Friday)
Psalm 80:1-7 (Both Days)
Hebrews 10:10-18 (Thursday)
Hebrews 10:32-39 (Friday)
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Restore us, O God of hosts;
show us the light of your countenance,
and we shall be saved.
–Psalm 80:7, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)
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The motif of divine judgment and mercy continues in the readings for these days. Exile will come to pass. According to the theology of the Old Testament, the main cause was disobedience to the Law of Moses. After the exile, however, divine mercy will shower upon the Hebrews. The new covenant will be one written on human hearts, not scrolls or stone tablets.
Divine forgiveness for human sins is a blessing and an expression of grace. It also creates an obligation to respond favorably to God, out of awe and gratitude. Such a favorable response will affect those around the one responding accordingly. How can it not? Consider, O reader, the commandment to love one’s neighbor as one loves oneself. That one has societal implications.
The Letter to the Hebrews warns against committing apostasy, or falling away from God. That emphasis is evident in 10:32-39. One cannot fall away from God unless one has followed God. As I wrote in the previous post,
Salvation…is a matter of God’s grace and human obedience.
Divine love for human beings is wonderful. It does not, however, negate free will. I recognize a role for predestination also, for I have come to accept the doctrine of Single Predestination, which is consistent with Lutheranism and Anglicanism, as well as moderate Calvinism. For those not predestined to Heaven the witness of the Holy Spirit is available. By free will (itself a gift of God) one can accept or reject that witness. The correct choice is acceptance, but many opt to reject the offer. Some of them had accepted it.
The responsibility to make the correct choice remains constant. The necessity of choosing to persist in the faith is a constant once one has embraced wondrous grace.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
AUGUST 20, 2015 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF JOHN BAJUS, U.S. LUTHERAN MINISTER AND HYMN TRANSLATOR
One of the great virtues of High Churchmanship is having a well-developed sense of sacred time. So, for example, the church calendars, with their cycles, tell us of salvation history. We focus on one part of the narrative at a time. Much of Protestantism, formed in rebellion against Medieval Roman Catholic excesses and errors, has thrown the proverbial baby out with the equally proverbial bath water, rejecting or minimizing improperly the sacred power of rituals and holy days.
Consider, O reader, the case of Christmas–not in the present tense, but through the late 1800s. Puritans outlawed the celebration of Christmas when they governed England in the 1650s. Their jure divino theology told them that since there was no biblical sanction for keeping Christmas, they ought not to do it–nor should anyone else. On the other hand, the jure divino theology of other Calvinists allowed for keeping Christmas. Jure divino was–and is–a matter of interpretation. Lutherans, Anglicans, and Moravians kept Christmas. Many Methodists on the U.S. frontier tried yet found that drunken revelry disrupted services. Despite this Methodist pro-Christmas opinion, many members of the Free Methodist denomination persisted in anti-Christmas sentiment. The holiday was too Roman Catholic, they said and existed without
the authority of God’s word.
Thus, as the December 19, 1888 issue of Free Methodist concluded,
We attach no holy significance to the day.
–Quoted in Leigh Eric Schmidt, Consumer Rites: The Buying and Selling of American Holidays (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1995), page 180. (The previous quote also comes from that magazine, quoted in the same book.)
Many Baptists also rejected the religious celebration of Christmas. An 1875 issue of Baptist Teacher, a publication for Sunday School educators, contained the following editorial:
We believe in Christmas–not as a holy day but as a holiday and so we join with our juveniles with utmost heartiness of festal celebration….Stripped as it ought to be, of all pretensions of religious sanctity and simply regarded as a social and domestic institution–an occasion of housewarming, and heart-warming and innocent festivity–we welcome its coming with a hearty “All Hail.”
–Quoted in Schmidt, Consumer Rites, pages 179 and 180
Presbyterians, with their Puritan heritage, resisted celebrating Christmas for a long time. In fact, some very strict Presbyterians still refuse to keep Christmas, citing their interpretation of jure divino theology. (I have found some of their writings online.) That attitude was more commonplace in the 1800s. The Presbyterian Church in the United States, the old Southern Presbyterian Church, passed the following resolution at its 1899 General Assembly:
There is no warrant for the observance of Christmas and Easter as holy days, but rather contrary (see Galatians iv.9-11; Colossians ii.16-21), and such observance is contrary to the principles of the Reformed faith, conducive to will-worship, and not in harmony with the simplicity of the gospel in Jesus Christ.
–Page 430 of the Journal of the General Assembly, 1899 (I copied the text of the resolution verbatim from an original copy of the Journal.)
I agree with Leigh Eric Schmidt:
It is not hard to see in this radical Protestant perspective a religious source for the very secularization of the holiday that would eventually be so widely decried. With the often jostling secularism of the Christmas bazaar, Protestant rigorists simply got what they had long wished for–Christmas as one more market day, a profane time or work and trade.
–Consumer Rites, page 180
I affirm the power of rituals and church calendars. And I have no fear of keeping a Roman Catholic holy day and season. Thus I keep Advent (December 1-24) and Christmas (December 25-January 5). I hold off on wishing people
Merry Christmas
often until close to Christmas Eve, for I value the time of preparation. And I have no hostility or mere opposition to wishing anyone
Happy Holidays,
due to the concentrated holiday season in December. This is about succinctness and respect in my mind; I am not a culture warrior.
Yet I cannot help but notice with dismay the increasingly early start of the end-of-year shopping season. More retailers will open earlier on Thanksgiving Day this year. Many stores display Christmas decorations before Halloween. These are examples of worshiping at the high altar of the Almighty Dollar.
I refuse to participate in this. In fact, I have completed my Christmas shopping–such as it was–mostly at thrift stores. One problem with materialism is that it ignores a basic fact: If I acquire an item, I must put it somewhere. But what if I enjoy open space?
I encourage a different approach to the end of the year: drop out quietly (or never opt in) and keep nearly four weeks of Advent and all twelve days of Christmas. I invite you, O reader, to observe these holy seasons and to discover riches and treasures better than anything on sale on Black Friday.
Pax vobiscum!
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
NOVEMBER 25, 2013 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SQUANTO, COMPASSIONATE HUMAN BEING
THE FEAST OF JAMES OTIS SARGENT HUNTINGTON, FOUNDER OF THE ORDER OF THE HOLY CROSS
–Martin Luther; translated by William James Kirkpatrick
Yesterday I sang in my parish choir’s performance of the Christmas portion of Handel’s Messiah. We dropped “His yoke is easy and his burden is light,” culminating instead in the Hallelujah Chorus. The concert was glorious and spiritually edifying for many people.
There are still a few days of Advent left. So I encourage you, O reader, to observe them. Then, beginning sometime during the second half of December 24, begin to say
Merry Christmas!
and continue that practice through January 5, the twelfth and last day of Christmas. And I encourage you to remember that our Lord and Savior was born into a violent world, one in which men–some mentally disturbed, others just mean, and still others both mean and mentally disturbed–threatened and took the lives of innocents. Names, circumstances, empires, nation-states, and technology have changed, but the essential reality has remained constant, unfortunately.
The Hallelujah Chorus, quoting the Apocalypse of John, includes these words:
The kingdom of this world is become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ.
That is not true yet, obviously. But that fact does not relieve any of us of our responsibilities to respect the Image of God in others and to treat them accordingly. We must not try to evade the duty to be the face and appendages of Christ to those to whom God sends us and those whom God sends to us. We cannot save the world, but we can improve it. May we do so for the glory of God and the benefit of others.
May the peace of Christ, born as a vulnerable baby and executed as a criminal by a brutal imperial government, be with you now and always. In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti. Amen.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
DECEMBER 17, 2012 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF MARIA STEWART, EDUCATOR
THE FEAST OF EGLANTYNE JEBB, FOUNDER OF SAVE THE CHILDREN
THE FEAST OF FRANK MASON NORTH, U.S. METHODIST MINISTER
The following content is appropriate all year yet especially in Advent.
We read in 2 Samuel that David, by God’s request, will not build a Temple (house) for God. No, God will make David the founder of a dynasty (house) instead:
Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me; your throne shall be established forever.
–Verse 16, The New Revised Standard Version
Such extravagant grace came with a great responsibility, which many members of the dynasty disregarded, unfortunately.
The New Testament readings for these days speak of Jesus of Nazareth, a descendant of David and a very different sort of king. In Jesus, we read, eternal life–in this life and in the next one–and the gateway to eternal life exist. In Jesus the Law of Moses is fulfilled and a new covenant of grace and adoption is ours if we accept and follow him. In Jesus all human categories which divide us from each other cease to exist.
Yet many of us who have called ourselves Christians have maintained many or all of these categories–such as
Jew or Greek…slave or free…male and female
–Galatians 3:28, The New Revised Standard Version
(a partial list, I admit). Other such divisions include native-born and foreign-born, heterosexual and homosexual, rich and poor, and lighter-skinned and darker-skinned. In so doing we have sinned–missed the mark. We have re-erected barriers which God destroyed. And we feel righteous for all our unrighteousness, oddly enough. We like barriers and categories, for they help us label others and therefore label ourselves. In fact, however, if we are in Christ, that is the only label which really matters. Why have so many of us been so oblivious for so long? What does God have to do–send us a giant, flashing neon sign, a pillar of fire, a burning bush, or something else? Why was the Incarnation insufficient to attract our attention to this spiritual truth?
My Advent challenge to all who read this post is the same I pose to myself: To leave torn down that which our Lord and Savior tore down.
Advent receives inadequate attention. The season is certainly not commercial. Indeed, Christmas receives much commercial attention even before Halloween, for retailers need the money from Christmas-related sales to sustain stores through other times of the year. I admit to being of two minds. On one hand I do my rather limited Christmas shopping at thrift stores, so my deeds reveal my creed. Yet I know that many jobs depend on Christmas-related sales, so I want retailers to do well at the end of the year. Nevertheless, I am not very materialistic at heart; the best part of Christmas is intangible. And nobody needs any more dust catchers.
Observing Advent is a positive way of dropping out of the madness that is pre-December 25 commercialism. The four Sundays and other days (December 2-24 in 2012) preceding Christmas Day are a time of spiritual preparation, not unlike Lent, which precedes Easter. Garrison Keillor used the term “Advent Distress Disorder” (ADD) in a monologue last year. Indeed, finding positive news in the midst of apocalyptic tones of Advent readings can prove difficult. Yet the good news remains and the light shines brightest in the darkness.
So, O reader, I invite you to observe a holy Advent. Embrace the confluence of joy and distress, of darkness and light. And give Advent all the time it warrants through December 24. Christmas will arrive on schedule and last for twelve days. But that is another topic….
Pax vobiscum!
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
NOVEMBER 6, 2012 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF WILLIAM TEMPLE, ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY
THE FEAST OF TE WHITI O RONGOMAI, MAORI PROPHET
THE FEAST OF SAINT THEOPHANE VERNARD, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST, MISSIONARY, AND MARTYR IN VIETNAM
Revelation 5 continues the scene in the previous chapter. The twenty-four elders are in Heaven, in the immediate presence of God. Then John of Patmos sees a scroll with seven seals. Only Jesus, the sacrificial lamb, is worthy to break the seven seals and to judge the earth, notably the Roman Empire.
Scholars of the Bible have interpreted the violent imagery of Revelation in various ways. Some see a contradiction between the Jesus of the Gospels and the avenging Christ of Revelation. This, I think, is an overstated case. In the Bible we read of God establishing the new, holy order on Earth. The founding of paradise begins with purging violence; the Day of the Lord is bad news for the wicked. The end of exploitation does not mean comfort for the one exploiting.
If God is gracious to suffering people, the end of their suffering comes frequently via unpleasant fates for those who inflict said suffering. Let us not embrace an illusion; good news for the death camp survivors was bad news for Nazis. And we do not weep for Nazis; nor should we.
Judgment and mercy coexist within God; this message emerges from a multitude of Biblical texts. So be it.
ADVENT, CHRISTMAS, AND EPIPHANY DEVOTIONS 
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